Method of mothproofing materials



Patented Sept. 17, 1940 PATENT OFFICE 2,214,962 METHOD 'OF MOTHPROOFING MATERIALS Daniel H. Jones, Collingswood, N. J., assignor to J. Harold Boss, Melrose, Mass., as trustee No Drawing.

Application October 30, 1936,

Serial No. 108,472 I Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of fabrics and other materials made wholly or in part from animal fibers to render the same resistant to moths.

6 Mothproofing materials which are used for application to fabrics and other materials made wholly or in part from animal fibers are usually applied either as a bath or as a spray. Such materials must be effective in relatively small 10 concentrations so that they may be used at reasonable cost; and they should be fatal to moths eventually and must prevent mothseating the material sufiiciently to damage it; they must be of such a character as to do no injury to the fiber to which the mothproofing material is applied either by rendering it harsh or stiff or by weakening it 'or by discoloring it; they should be as permanent as possible in their effects; there must be no tendency to crystallize on the fabric and any dust which may be carried off must not be irritating.

It has been common practice prior to the present invention to immerse the materials to be mothproofed in a dilute water solution of a mixture of two or more chemical substances, which when present in proper portion, on the treated material impart thereto resistance to moths. These substances, however, in solution, do not possess suflicient afiinity for the material to be treated so as to render them practical for use alone in the immersion method. It is necessary, therefore, to use in combination with these substances, another chemical substance, such as aluminum sulfate, which possesses a high affinity for the material to be treated and which increases the affinity of the other substances for the material to be treated. For example, as illustrative of a common practice prior to the present invention, a dilute solution has been used containing "0 suitable proportions of sodium or potassium fluoride and a fluosilicate together with a mordant,

such as aluminum sulfate.

The standing bath method of immersion comprises passing a continuous web or a plurality of 5 webs of fabric through the same bath. Prior to the present invention the standing bath method of immersion hasbeenunsatisfactory becauseit has been impossible to control properly the composition of the bath. Thus, as the material is passed 50 through the bath the various ingredients thereof are removed by the material being treated at difierent rates. Consequently, the relative proportions of the ingredients are changed. Con,- centration of the bath has been determined by its 58 specific gravity or its acidity. .These methods do not provide the necessary information so that the composition of the bath may be satisfactorily adjusted, during operations, by the addition of one or more of the original ingredients thereto. The reason for this is that: the different solubili 5 ties of the ingredients individually and collectively is a factor which complicates control of the bath. Thus, with a given specific gravity or acidity the ingredients of the mixture may be present in solution in any one of several differ- 1o ent relative proportions. In fact. no satisfactory method has been known for testing the bath during operations to provide information where- 4 by such a bath may be satisfactorily controlled so as to obtain at all times a treated material 15 having satisfactory moth resistance or for determining the percentage of active moth resisting ingredients absorbed by'the fabric.

In its broadest aspect, the present invention is based upon the discovery that the effectiveness 20 of a fluoride and a silico-fiuoride are greatly increased when used in combination with antimony. The fabrics treated are not only inedible but provide an environment which greatly reduces the normal propagation of the moths. However, 26 when an antimony salt is used in conjunction with a fluoride or a silico-fiuoride, the difficulties of control above mentioned are encountered and the bath possesses the relatively high acidity characteristic of the fluoride or silico-fluoride 30 bath. -It has been discovered, however, that a chemical substance in which the antimony, and an alkali metal and fluoride, or silicon and fluorine, such as a fluosilicate, are chemically united not only imparts as great elfectiveness as a mix- 35 ture of an antimony salt and a fluoride or silicofluoride but is less detrimental to fabrics. A solution containing such a chemical substance can be employed in many instances without the use of aluminum sulfate, or other mordants. Fur- 40 thermore, such a solution can be controlled so that a treated material can be obtained at all times which possesses uniform satisfactory moth resistance. The presence of the antimony in chemical union makes possible an accurate determination of the moth resistance of the treated material by chemical determination of the antimony content. The relatively high solubility of the substances used in the practice of the invention makes possible the use of a bath of higher concentration than has theretofore been possible in commercial practice.

In accordance with the invention fabrics or other materials which are wholly or in part of animal origin are rendered resistant to moths by applying to the material either by spraying the material with or immersing it in an aqueous solution of a substance in which antimony and either fluorine, or fluorine and silicon, such as a fluosilicate, together with an alkali metal are chemically united. By alkali metal it is intended to include not only sodium and potassium but also the rare earth and the alkaline earth metals and also alkaline substances, such as NHa. For example, an aqueous solution of a complex fluoride of sodium and antimony (NaESbFa or (NaF)2.SbF3) or the complex salt of antimony fluoride ammonium sulfate (SbF3.(NI-I4)2SO4) or ammonium fluo-antimonate ((NH4F)2.SbFa) may be used. If desired, a wetting agent or penetrant and a mordant also may be used in any manner and for the purposes well known to those skilled in the art. After application of the solution, the treated material is dried in well known manner.

Moths will not stay on the surface of materials treated in accordance with the invention if they can avoid it. In fact, it has been observed that moths build a web or net over such treated material, apparently with the purpose of avoiding contact with it. The invention effectively prevents substantial injury to the treated materials. The treatment bath has low acidity and its composition can be accurately controlled and 2, treated material obtained at all times having a known desired moth resistance. 1

I claim:

1. A method'of treating fabrics or other materials, which are wholly or in part of animal origin, to render the same resistant to moths,

which comprises applying to said material an aqueous solution containing a complex salt, said complex salt containing antimony and fluorine and including all the active moth resisting materials used in said solution.

2. A method of treating fabrics or other materials, which are wholly or in part of animal origin, to render the same resistant to moths,

which comprisesuipplying to said material an aqueous solution containing a complex salt, said complex salt containing antimony, fluorine and an inorganic akaline radical and including all the active moth resisting materials used in said solution.

3. A method of treating fabrics or other materials, which are wholly or in part of animal origin, to render the same resistant to moths, which comprises applying to said material an aqueous solution containing the complex fluoride of sodium and antimony, said compound containing all the active moth resisting materials used in said solution. 1

4. A method of treating fabrics or other materials, which are wholly or in part of animal origin, to render the same resistant to moths, which comprises applying to said material an aqueous solution containing the complex compound antimony fluoride ammonium sulphate, said compound containing all the active moth resisting materials used in said solution.

5. A method of treating fabrics or other materials, which are wholly or in part of animal origin, to render the same resistant to moths, which comprises applying to said material an aqueous solution containing the complex compound ammonium fluoantimonate, said compound containing all the active moth resisting materials used in said solution.

DANIEL H. JONES. 

